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by NoNotThat



Category: BlazBlue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 17:23:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18899224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoNotThat/pseuds/NoNotThat
Summary: Jin and his friends have been playing the BlazBlue MMO for awhile now and have made friends with the SS ranked Criminal they are supposed to be apprehending. Unknowing of who GrimRepr is, the guild may finally find their chance in meeting him face to face when attending BlazCon.*Rating likely to change





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**Author's Note:**

> These 9 pages have been sitting in my docs since 2016 so I might as well share, right?

“You know, we probably shouldn’t be doing this without Jin around…” Tsubaki speaks up through her headset, trailing after Makoto’s and Noel’s avatars, “It’s supposed to be a group effort anyway.”

“How will we have any fun if Jin-san is always telling us what to do?” Makoto whines as she enters the in-game base, no doubt where they’d find “criminals” trying to locate and deactivate the cauldron for experience going towards their rank and level. 

“Makoto, he just went to grab something to eat,” Noel laughs nervously, a bit fearful of upsetting the older blond. 

The popular MMO BlazBlue was much like WoW in the aspect of choosing a side, the NOL and Criminals, and having a few different races to choose from. The NOL and the guilds within were given a main quest, but were allowed to go off and do side missions that involved hunting Criminal NPCs/players. But, guilds that were given a high rank had an extra perk (or work, as Makoto put it). Depending on how high of a rank your guild was, you were given a specific Criminal to chase after. Of course, depending on the rank of the Criminal, others might want to hunt them for the bounty placed on them, but it was recommended to have the chosen guilds go after them since the one Criminal was within their capabilities and had priority in battle should an opposing party arrive.

And, with how high their guild is, Heroes of Ikaruga (courtesy of Kagura), they have grown to be popular and held in high regard; so much so that the staff themselves have recognized them. Only ranks one and two have had the perks of gaining a command unique to their characters as well as skin customization that really set them off from the rest. 

NOL was given the advantage of working in groups while Criminals often times could not. While NOL did have strength in numbers, Criminals could gain the upper hand by their quicker leveling, and thus, a higher level cap, and slightly more advanced movesets. It was tough being a Criminal since it did take some skill at being a decent one, let alone the addition of guilds flocking towards them to earn money and rewards, but the fighting was balanced out with the Criminal able to summon a companion. In addition to that, one NOL member focused on the Criminal while two others had to focus the companion before moving on to help. 

That being said, Jin, the “major” within their guild and the position under Kagura’s, was the one leading their group at the moment. Kagura and Hibiki didn’t have time to get on recently, their personal lives getting to them understandably, so it let the bored college students to their own devices. While they were down two members, the three remaining still manage to uphold their ranking as second best- right under guild Imperator. 

_GrimRepr has signed on…_

Makoto claps. “Oh! Ohohoh, someone invite him to the party chat! Is he in the area?”

Noel looks to the cursor that has GrimRepr’s avatar within it next to her character. By how it was pointing up and pulsing with a slightly larger picture of the avatar, she could confidently say he was close. “He’s straight ahead!” 

GrimRepr was an SS class Criminal; the highest of the highest ranking for them. GrimRepr was well known throughout the servers for his ability to actually one man entire quests and cauldrons despite the crowds of NOLs attempting to go after him. And, just the like them, he was given a unique custom skin and command. Most Criminals could only have the one NOL attacking them while the limit of two others attacking the companion. Meanwhile, GrimRepr had one direct fight with the possibility of two more joining after the death of the companion. The amount of people that could join in grew lower the more health was shed off of a Criminal, but GrimRepr was typically able to beat the one NOL before the others joined, thus ending the battle session. 

“I’m ba-”

“Jin-san!” Makoto shrieked, causing the blond flinch away despite the headset resting in his head, “Grim is dead ahead!” 

_”What?!”_ Jin gasps, opening the “Friends” tab to indeed see that GrimRepr was on, “Where are you guys? Did you go ahead without me?!”

“We’re sorry, Jin! We just wanted to scope the area before engaging with any of the lower class Criminals and he just happened to be here,” Tsubaki apologizes, halting her character. 

“Don’t be sorry, just… You know how much I hate that,” Jin sighs irritably as he clicks away at his screen to catch up, “You know how much _he_ means to me.”

“I know. You’ve always had a competitive streak,” she chuckles. 

_GrimRepr joined party chat._

_GrimRepr: You guys coming after me or what?_

“Well, duh!” Makoto scoffs, “We still want the reward your bounty has.”

_GrimRepr: Good luck, FlyinSquirrel. Gonna get AzureEye to back you up again?_

There was a collective groan. Last time, they had been so, so close to beating the companion to assist Tsubaki who had been fighting him that time, but Noel lagged out and they lost the extra damage. Due to that, Ragna was able to defeat Tsubaki and end the battle.

“My connection is fine now, GrimRepr!” Noel squeaks out, obviously still ashamed about her last encounter, “Thanks for the message after that, by the way. I-I didn’t think I really helped out…”

_GrimRepr: What are you talking about? It would have been a hassle if you managed to stay._

“Yeah, Noellers, you were the game changer!” 

Noel giggles and continues chatting with GrimRepr. He didn’t have a mic, so talking to him in battle was rare. It’s not like he could do command keys while simultaneously typing a reply, so it gave them some fun to tease him in the middle of the fray. 

_GrimRepr: Where is FallingMoon?_

“I think he’s seething because we went ahead,” Makoto replies as she runs through her emotes to pass time. 

As Jin nears his destination, he can feel his heartbeat picking up. “Don’t worry, Grim. As soon as I get there, you’re mine.” 

_GrimRepr: Lol. Can’t wait, ice princess._

It was always exciting to have GrimRepr online. As infuriating as he was to battle, it was a treat for Jin. Prior to their assignment to him, the Criminals they had were below SS since the first one had been assigned to the Imperator guild. While they helped his guild advance the ranks, he still didn’t find a lot of enjoyment in them. They were too easy to beat and out think. They didn’t seem to take the game seriously or know how to effectively utilize their move sets to their full capacity to make battles a struggle. When GrimRepr came around, it actually gave Jin a challenge to look forward to that he knew he’d be getting quality game play with because he was as knowledgeable as Jin when it came to utilizing their skills. He actually made their members have to communicate and work around each other in order to get things done. 

“Noel, stop friending the enemy,” Tsubaki speaks up, cutting the blonde off from recounting the day she had.

“E-eh? But we always talk!” comes her confused reply, probably fidgeting. 

_GrimRepr: Yeah, what’s the big deal, MagentaJustice?_

_GrimRepr: Oh, wait. Ice princess finally arrived?_

Jin imagines Tsubaki nodding her head firmly. “We have everyone now so get ready to battle!”

“Yesss, you’re going down! Tsubaki’s buffs are going to really give us the advantage.”

“Do your best!” 

Giddy, he leads his team to where GrimRepr’s character lies, his smile growing. “I can’t wait for us to kill each other.” 

_GrimRepr: Yeah, whatever._

_GrimRepr: You know I’m about to bend you over and royally fuck you._

“B-Grim!” Tsubaki screeches as Makoto howls with laughter, “Not appropriate!”

_GrimRepr: I’m getting my trash talk in before you guys spit your garbage at me while I can’t respond._

Jin doesn’t take offense. If he did, he would have been cursing at GrimRepr a long time ago. Instead, he just chuckles and takes the time to crack his knuckles. “Let’s begin, shall we?” 

GrimRepr’s red cladded character summons a yellow dressed cat wielding a blade. 

_GrimRepr: Bring it._

 

Jin isn’t even mad when they lose. Sure, it’s frustrating when a few things didn’t go their way, mainly Makoto casting her Distortion way too early on the companion and Tsubaki accidentally hitting one key instead of the one she wanted, but he still had fun playing it. The only thing to make it better would be to have GrimRepr on mic so that he could shit talk back. It was all good fun and they’d all would like GrimRepr to join in despite trying to kill him. Jin didn’t think he could play a game so seriously and still find it almost relaxing and enjoyable. 

_GrimRepr: I’m going to head off now. Got things to do._

“Aw, so soon?” Makoto sighs, “Get back on later, yeah?”

“We’ll see you later, Grim,” Tsubaki responds. 

“Have a good day!” 

Jin stretches his arms over his head. “I’ll be getting off as well.” 

It was normal for the blond to leave shortly after the Criminal did. He just couldn’t go on playing after fighting him since everything else would be severely disappointing, so he needed a good half-hour before getting back on to resume anything. 

_GrimRepr: Later._

_GrimRepr has signed off..._

“I’m actually gonna go, too,” Makoto says as her character disappears, “I have a ton of things to do and collect before BlazCon next week!” 

Tsubaki sighs. “You’ve been procrastinating again…” 

“I’m not as bad as Noel!” 

“Don’t bring me into this!” 

“Text me if he gets back on, Tsubaki.”

“Yes, Jin!” 

 

BlazCon was as the name suggested; a convention hosted by the Blazblue developers so that the fans could gather and nerd out while hopping on one of their many computers stationed for exclusive competitions for con-goers. Originally, Jin wasn’t even interested in going. First of all, people tend to smell because, apparently, showering during the three day long event was too much to ask for. Second, it would undoubtedly be crowded despite a large building being rented out and it was bound to get hot and sweaty with all the people in one place. To top it all off, Jin could not pull off “cosplay.” While he appreciates the time and effort Tsubaki had set aside for this, it just didn’t feel like a thing he would do. 

_“We gotta go as our characters!” Makoto insisted one night when the idea of going was first being tossed around, “I went to last year’s and people were dressing up as us! Guys, do you know how cool that is?! It’s kinda like we are celebrities.”_

After their friend managed to rope Tsubaki and Noel in on the idea, all three of them decided they were going to dress up and that meant Jin was expected to as well. In all honesty, he doesn’t think it will turn out well. For fictional characters to look good in something was one thing, but trying to pull it off in real life was another. 

Which is why he currently stands in their hotel’s bathroom looking in the mirror with surprised eyes. He has to commend his friend on her handy work because the costume fits him just right and he actually doesn’t look half bad. If he takes off his glasses, he would actually look like the real life version of his character and he doesn’t know if that’s amazing or weird. 

A knock at the door makes him break the staring contest he is having with himself. 

“Jin, are you ready?” 

The blond looks back at himself and adjusts the high blue collar. “Yeah, Tsubaki. I’ll be out in a second.” 

After another quick lookover, he steps out and joins the girls at the door. Already he can feel the oncoming headache that is soon to hit him when fans come flocking towards them asking for pictures. Makoto’s cosplay is just as revealing as her character suggests, so he can imagine Tsubaki and Noel giving a piece of their minds to any oncoming perverts. Those kinds of people would be drawn to all of them undoubtedly and Jin would have no problem putting his sword prop to use if they decide to step over the line. As ready as he’d ever be, he follows the girls out of their room and to the convention center, dreading what the day may bring. 

When they enter the place, it doesn’t take long for photos to come their way. It’s was expected by anyone who cosplayed here, really. As the girls were getting their photos done, Jin noticed other people dressed up receiving the same treatment, more than a few cosplaying as his guild members. There were also others he could recognize as the Imperator’s guild and then others that he couldn’t, so he assumed they went as their own character. When his group finally managed to get away from the entrance they had been stuck at due to pictures, Jin got more than excited than he should have when he saw a GrimRepr cosplayer roaming the area. Noticing Jin’s staring, Tsubaki looks, smiles, and laughs softly. 

“I don’t think it would be wise to start a fight at a convention, Jin,” she teases, causing the blond to flush a bit.

“I’m not. Just admiring the costume. It’s a little off.” 

Makoto rolls her eyes. “Oh, god, are you going to be one of _those_ cosplayers?” 

Jin blinks, having no idea what she is talking about and is waiting for her to elaborate. 

“You’re one of those people who find fault in a perfect cosplay or complain when the tiniest thing is off.”

“I’m all about perfection, as you’d know. Don’t know how this would surprise you.”

“What’s off about it?” Noel asks, confused as she stares at the GrimRepr cosplayer from their position, “It looks perfect to me.”

“Exactly, Noel!”

The male shakes his head and sighs as if he is disappointed in their lack of perception. “It would be perfect if the wig was styled a bit more appropriately and had their jacket a deeper shade of red.” 

“You really are nit-picking,” Tsubaki laughs, “To think you would catch those kinds of details.”

“Can you honestly blame me? We battle him all the time, so I have a pretty solid understanding of that his avatar looks like. That, and your handy work has pretty much put others to shame.”

Tsubaki flushes at the compliment and waves her hands. “I-it’s nothing! I just tried to perfect our costumes to the best of my ability, that’s all!” 

“And you did a damn fine job!” Makoto adds, pulling her into a one arm hug with Noel jumping to her free side and hugging her.

“Yeah, it’s the best!” 

The magenta haired girl covers her reddening face. “You guys…”

“Haha, sorry ‘Baki! What do you say we head to the computers and wipe the floor with these guys in the competitions?”

“Makoto, that’s not nice…”

“What else would you expect from a guild of our ranking, Noel? Let’s go!” 

 

Jin didn’t like the gaming room. There were tons of people crowding and watching as players went about their competition events and were quite rowdy in doing so. Personally, he liked playing in almost absolute silence and he didn’t know how the change of environment would impact his gaming. Nonetheless, he followed the girls until they had to split to find computers since there was apparently not enough computers in one space to accommodate them. When he found a place that was close to the back and near the wall, he signed on and got collective shouts of surprise about his and his friends’ appearance within the competition servers. 

“Someone invite AzureEye to our group!”

“FlyinSquirrel would really kill the Cops and Criminals event.”

“MagentaJustice, if you can hear me I want to let you know I’m a big fan!” 

“One v One me, FallingMoon! Please!” 

Jin wanted to groan. He knew the comments were supposed to be a compliment but he honestly just wanted to play and do well at it without the chatter of people grinding his nerves. Doing his best to tune them out, he scrolled over what kinds of events were available to them as Tsubaki worked on getting everyone into a party chat. 

_MagentaJustice joined party chat._  
_FlyinSquirrel joined party chat._  
_FallingMoon joined party chat._  
_AzureEye joined party chat._

_FlyinSquirrel: GUYS, THEY LOVE US._  
_AzureEye: Wow! I would have never thought..._  
_MagentaJustice: You okay, Jin?_  
_FallingMoon: As fine as I’ll ever be here. It’s loud, but I can handle it. What competition did you want to do?_

There was Death Match, an event that allowed a max of five NOL guilds and five Criminals into one arena and go at each other with no limit as to how many people could attack a single character. Cops and Criminals was a game where Criminals were meant to flee and hide for a given time limit with their only weapon being a stun item on cooldown. There were a few others, but his group decided to go ahead with Death Match. 

_Waiting for: 1 NOL, 2 Criminals..._

_FlyinSquirrel: Agh, how long are we going to have to wait?_  
_AzureEye: Well, not long, probably._  
_MagentaJustice: Yeah, everyone seems to be rotating regularly._

_GrimRepr has joined the match..._

Another ripple of noise sounds throughout the room as players voice their surprise.

“The Reaper is here?!” 

“I want to get my paws on him, nyah!”

“Tao, you really are in character... “

“Someone find which computer he is at! What event is he doing?!”

Jin didn’t try to make it a secret to look around his area when the familiar name popped up and could see that his teammates were searching as well. He was just as surprised as the rest of the con-goers since GrimRepr never mentioned coming. 

_GrimRepr joined party chat._

_FlyinSquirrel: WTF, MR. EDGY?!?_  
_AzureEye: Why didn’t you tell us??_  
_FallingMoon: I want to know that, too._  
_GrimRepr: Surprise._

**The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning: DEATH MATCH!**

_FallingMoon: I think you have explaining to do after this._  
_GrimRepr: We can meet up outside and talk about it._

The student suddenly finds his heart in his throat. He’s finally going to not just hear the voice behind the popular Criminal, but see him as well. They’d all be seeing a friend after a year or so of silent gaming with each other. He was a valued friend, player, and even prize for the guild and Jin finds himself anxious and itching to meet the not-so-stranger stranger. 

_FallingMoon: Let’s make this quick then._

They all spawn in a random location of the arena. From what he can tell, the other NOL and Criminals are of average rank and level, so he assumes they will be hard targeting either him or GrimRepr for bragging rights. 

As if he could let that happen.

Those rights were reserved for him and only him. The SS Criminal was assigned to his group and Jin would be damned if he saw another try to defeat the player that made the game worth playing. Eyes sharpening with attention, his gaze is firm on the screen ahead, leading Tsubaki and the others to the nearest opponent to take them out of the match as quickly as possible.


End file.
